Honeycomb cinder toffee candy

This is a recipe for Halloween or Bonfire night, some thing that you can make with the kids and that will hopefully go down very well with them.  I know that when I have made them they have gone down rather well and now with the added attraction of popping candy, chopped almonds, sprinkles and chocolate they have taken on an almost professional standard.  What you can do is set the honeycomb silicon moulds and stick a lolly stick in it.  Or you can set it on a tray and break it up in to ruff shapes latter.  

325g/11½oz caster sugar

50g/2oz honey

125g/4½oz glucose syrup

4 tbsp water

1 tbsp bicarbonate of soda

200g/7oz good-quality milk chocolate

250g/9oz hundreds and thousands (optional)

250g/9oz popping candy (optional)

250g/9oz almonds, finely chopped (optional)

Now like making jam you want a bigger saucepan than you think for reason that I will go in to latter.

To make the honeycomb get your sugar, honey, glucose syrup and water in a saucepan and heat until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is a light caramel. Now you do not want to walk away from this as when it starts to turn it goes quite quickly.

The next stage you have to remove the saucepan from the heat and set on the side.  Now carefully add the bicarbonate soda. The mix will froth up and rise up the side of the pan and that is why you want a bigger pan than you think.  Keep whisking after you have added the bicarbonate soda for about another minute or two until every think calms down.

Now pour the mix on to a greaseproof lined try or in to the silicon moulds, if you are going to make lollipops stick the sticks in at this stage.  Then set this to one side until it has all hardened.

Now all you have to do is decide what you want to do with the finished article.  You can just leave it as it is.  Or you can melt chocolate and dip the honeycomb in the chocolate and then sprinkle what ever you like on it.

Just melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water. Sprinkle what ever you want on the honeycombed onto a plate.  Dip the honeycomb in the chocolate and then roll on to what ever you are covering it with.  Let it set for one or two hours in a cool place or until the chocolate has set.

And there you have it your own home made candy